Mets, deGrom agree to $17 million, 1-year contract

The Associated Press

Updated: January 11, 2019

FILE - In this Sept. 26, 2018, file photo, New York Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom delivers the ball to the Atlanta Braves during the second inning of a baseball game in New York. NL Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom and the New York Mets agreed to a $17 million, one-year contract, a record raise for an arbitration-eligible player from his $7.4 million salary. The deal was agreed to Friday, Jan. 11, 2019, before the pitcher and team were to exchange proposed salaries in arbitration. Bill Kostroun / AP

NEW YORK — NL Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom and the New York Mets agreed to a $17 million, one-year contract, a record raise for an arbitration-eligible player from his $7.4 million salary last year.

DeGrom’s figure set a mark for a pitcher eligible for arbitration for the third time. Syndergaard agreed to a $6 million deal, doubling his salary.

The 30-year-old deGrom led the majors with a 1.70 ERA in 217 innings and was selected to his second All-Star Game. He was fifth in MVP voting after receiving little support on a fourth-place squad.

The right-hander went 10-9 with 269 strikeouts in 32 remarkably consistent starts for a team that finished 77-85. He can become a free agent after the 2020 season if the Mets don’t sign their electric ace to a multiyear contract by then.

New York sounds open to a long-term deal under new general manager Brodie Van Wagenen, who was deGrom’s agent before switching sides and taking the front-office job. Talks could take place soon, though Van Wagenen has said he’ll recuse himself from negotiations involving deGrom to avoid a conflict of interest.

Syndergaard went 13-4 with a 3.03 ERA in 25 starts last season but had some trouble staying healthy again. The right-hander logged only 30 1/3 innings in 2017 because of a torn lat muscle. Last year he missed time with a finger injury and an illness, finishing with 155 strikeouts and 39 walks in 154 1/3 innings.

The 26-year-old Syndergaard, an All-Star in 2016, won five of his last six decisions and pitched the first two complete games of his career in September, including a shutout on the final day of the season.

Syndergaard’s name was often mentioned in trade talk early this off-season, with the Padres and Marlins among the teams said to be seriously interested. Van Wagenen didn’t rule out such a move at first, but eventually indicated the Mets plan to keep Thor at the front of a stingy rotation that is the foundation of the team.

Finally healthy again last season, Wheeler ($5,975,000) is coming off a breakout performance in the second half. He was one of baseball’s most dominant pitchers from July on, going 9-1 with a 1.68 ERA in his last 11 starts — at last fulfilling the considerable promise that made him the sixth overall pick in the 2009 amateur draft by San Francisco. He finished 12-7 with a 3.31 ERA and 179 strikeouts in 29 starts covering 182 1/3 innings.

The right-hander, who turns 29 in May, missed two full seasons following Tommy John surgery in March 2015. He returned in 2017 but that season (3-7, 5.21 ERA) was cut short after 17 starts due to a stress reaction in his pitching arm. Still, he beat the Mets in salary arbitration last February and got a raise from $800,000 to $1.9 million instead of New York’s $1.5 million offer.

Wheeler can become a free agent after the upcoming season.

The oft-injured Matz ($2,625,000) finally made it through a full major league season for the first time last year, going 5-11 with a 3.97 ERA in 30 starts. The lefty struck out 152 and walked 58 in a career-high 154 innings.

Matz, the Mets’ fourth starter, is 20-26 with a 3.98 ERA in 71 big league outings. The local kid from Long Island earned $577,000 last year and this was his first exposure to salary arbitration. Matz and the Mets are hoping he’s ready to take a significant step forward on the mound.

Conforto ($4,025,000), an All-Star in 2017, missed nearly all of spring training last year following shoulder surgery and got off to a punchless start at the plate. But he rebounded with a big second half and set career highs with 28 homers and 82 RBIs in 153 games. He batted .243 with a .797 OPS.

The 25-year-old had nine homers and 29 RBIs in September. He made $605,094 last season and was eligible for arbitration for the first time.

The oft-injured d’Arnaud got $3,515,000 in a deal agreed to last month.

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